Star City's Guardian Angel
by TheWhiteW0lf
Summary: Day 3 of Lauriver (Wednesday, Jan 29th): Canary Cry. Following Laurel's Meta Canary Cry activating in Iron Heights, Oliver comforts and reassures Laurel, and realizes a certain truth.


Oliver noticed that on the drive back to the base, Laurel was keeping her distance from them. Normally, she would be talking to Speedy about this or that, or even talk shop with him or John. Instead, she was sullen and aloof, sitting in the far corner of the van, closest to the back doors, as if she was ready to flee at any moment.

She had been in this state since her body somehow produced an actual Canary Cry. A cry that wasn't created by technology. She had just realized that she was a meta-human, in defending herself from his own arrow. An arrow that Darhk had commandeered from him, thanks to his magic from The Idol. She had killed several inmates, including Darhk himself.

Laurel's eyes had just connected with his, and then he saw it. The hurt, the distrust and the fear. She must have thought that she was a monster and that everyone agreed.

Oliver tapped Diggle on the shoulder and quietly told him to pull over in a dark back alley and let them out.

"Ollie?" Thea asked.

"Just… stay with John, Speedy. I need to speak to Laurel, privately." Thea's head bobbed slightly, as she patted Laurel gently on the shoulder, whispering something lightly before Laurel followed Oliver out.

Oliver led Laurel up to a rooftop, only Laurel crossed her arms and retreated back from him. "I know what you are going to say, Ollie. And I agree, I'm a liability with this power. A monster just like all the other metahumans." Like Jeremy Tell, Jake Simmons, Reverse-Flash, Savage, Zoom, and his army.

Oliver gave her a surprised, yet sympathetic look. He would never have expected her to have so much self-loathing. She was always the one to pick him up and brush him off. "I don't. No Dinah Laurel Lance could ever be a bad person. You have the best heart I know."

"I killed those men. They were already behind bars. I killed Darhk." And he would have done worse if Darhk had killed her.

Oliver took a small unthreatening step towards her, and gently held her hands in his. "I have blood on my hands too, Laurel. Am I any less of a hero in your eyes? And I don't care if you have metahuman DNA that allows you to scream, or if it's a piece of metal that does it for you. You're my hero, Laurel."

"I know what you are doing, Ollie and you can stop. Just because we are friends, and have a shared history doesn't mean you have to give me false platitudes, Ollie. I'm a big girl, I can handle it. "

Oliver walked closer to her, pulling off his glove, and holding her hand in his gently. "It's not false platitudes, I love you Laurel— I love you." He repeated, realizing how true it was, and regretting that he never realized it sooner. "And you are as much Star City's Guardian Angel, as Barry is to Central City." Laurel was a hero, someone more in league with the likes of Barry than him, she was a hero even before she put on her mask.

Laurel froze, looking at him, her eyes wide. "You… Love me?" She stammered.

"I do, a mutated DNA strand will never change that, Laurel."

"What about Felicity?" Laurel asked, trying desperately to get a hold of herself.

"The last few weeks, have allowed me to reflect on my relationship with her, we are too different. And there has only ever been one woman who has been in my life through thick and thin, even when I have hurt her. Laurel, I want to try again, but I want it to be real for both of us, and I know I may not deserve it…"

Laurel wrapped her arms around him, silencing him with a kiss. "I love you too, Ollie. But we take it slow and keep it quiet for a while. And we make sure that we are always honest with each other."

"I promise, Pretty Bird." Oliver gave a wide smile it was something that he hadn't done in a long time, feeling truly at ease. And apparently it only took Laurel almost dying, and for her metahuman powers to awaken to save her. As if fate or divine intervention was pulling them together again, and this time hopefully for good. He would do whatever it took to ensure that it was.


End file.
